Fort Ticonderoga to host living history event

‘Relief & Refit’ Aug. 4 and 5

History will come alive at Fort Ticonderoga as the historic site hosts “Relief & Refit.” The living history event will be held Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5. It will feature a look at Gen. Amherst’s British and provincial army at Fort Ticonderoga in the aftermath of the destruction of France’s southernmost stronghold on Lake Champlain in 1759.

Ticonderoga  History will come alive at Fort Ticonderoga as the historic site hosts “Relief & Refit.”

The living history event will be held Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5. It will feature a look at Gen. Amherst’s British and provincial army at Fort Ticonderoga in the aftermath of the destruction of France’s southernmost stronghold on Lake Champlain in 1759.

“’Relief & Refit’ will take place on the very ground where Gen. Amherst’s troops secured this strategic victory,” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ti director of interpretation. “This weekend-long program will dramatically bring to life the experience of the British and American provincial soldiers who were part of the 1759 campaign. In this British living history weekend event, we will recreate and practice the regular, naval, and ranging elements of this Army as it prepared to move on towards Canada in August of 1759.”

Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga executive director, said visitors will hear the roar of musketry, watch soldiers move men and material from Lake Champlain to supply the army encamped around the fort and meet British staff officers and learn about their overall strategy in the French and Indian War in 1759.

“Highlighted programming will be offered throughout the weekend including musket drills and firing demonstrations, activities on the shores of Lake Champlain as troops unload supplies, fife & drum corps performances and even an 18th-century Sunday morning divine service,” Hill said.

“Relief & Refit” will include a program at the site of the 18th-century French saw mill, located in present-day Ticonderoga, on Friday, Aug. 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A detachment of Massachusetts Provincial soldiers will haul timber back to the fort with a bateau. Members of Rogers’ Rangers, fresh from a scout up Mount Defiance, will also take part.

“Fort Ticonderoga offers an unparalleled and unique experience for visitors to be immersed in a dramatic moment in time,” Hill said. “What took place at Fort Ticonderoga determined in part the fate of North America. The capture of the fort in 1759 was critical to the overall British strategy which ultimately led to their victory during the French and Indian War.”